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Voter precinct plans remain in flux

With no city election, board has more time to decide

There’s still time to comment on Forsyth County’s evolving voter precinct map.

Further revisions to the map were suggested during a meeting Monday of the board of elections, but “nothing is in stone yet,” said Elections Supervisor Barbara Luth.

“We have time,” Luth said. “We have 60 days before the [next] election to get voter cards to everybody, so we’ve got a little more time to work on everything.”

With no need for an election Nov. 5 in Cumming, where all three incumbents are running unopposed, the next election cycle won’t be until 2014.

Luth said a final decision on the precinct changes likely won’t happen until later this year or early next year.

The maps are a work in progress.

The elections board was first presented with the changes in the spring, and has been holding community meetings and huddling with local political organizations to make sure the public has a chance to offer input.

Reducing the number of polling places from 25 to about 16 has been billed as a cost-saving measure that could translate into about $15,000 in savings per election.

Luth said the latest changes include “that upper part of Matt [precinct] to put it into Coal Mountain, just because it’s hard to get from there down to Heardsville, where we had it, so we’re going to change that around.”

“We’re also looking at the Vickery precinct,” Luth said. “We’ll know a little more next month.”

The changes also remove schools countywide as polling places, which should cut down on election day traffic congestion.